Images from Stephen Harper’s political life – from Canadian…

Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper is escorted into the House of Commons by M.P.s Art Hanger and John Reynolds to take his seat May 21, 2002. Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper speaks at the annual Ahmadiyya Muslim convention in Toronto, June 26, 2005.

Obama creates world’s largest protected marine area off Hawaii

President Barack Obama will expand the country's largest contiguous fully protected conservation area to create the world's largest marine protected area in Hawaii, covering 582,578 square miles of land and sea, the White House said. The designation Friday will more than quadruple Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to protect coral reefs, deep sea marine habitats and ecological resources in the waters off the northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Morning Spin: Why Rauner fears teacher pension board vote

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. The board that oversees the Teachers Retirement System is scheduled to vote on whether to lower the expected rate of return on investments, a move Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner 's office has warned could blow a massive hole into the state's already shaky finances.

Clinton slams Trump for ties to ‘alt-right’ media

Seeking to forever tie Donald Trump to the "alt-right" and its media icons, Hillary Clinton on Thursday delivered a stemwinding indictment of Trump and his embrace of extreme conservative media, rhetoric and conspiracy theories. The speech, in Reno, Nev., used Trump's connections to outlets like Breitbart, InfoWars and the National Enquirer to portray him as a dangerous man living in a "paranoid fever dream."

Colombia’s president rushing vote on deal with rebels

" Colombia's president is moving quickly to hold a national referendum on a peace deal meant to end a half-century of bloody conflict with leftist rebels, delivering the final text of the deal to congress on Thursday and declaring a definitive cease-fire with the guerrillas. "The armed conflict with the FARC is ending," President Juan Manuel Santos said on the steps of the congress building while declaring a definitive end to military action against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

White House officials meet Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton teams

Top White House officials met representatives of the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigns to "ensure a smooth transition to the next administration" which will take office on January 20, 2017. This is the first time that the President Barack Obama government has held a meeting with members of both campaigns to discuss the transfer of power that will take place after the November presidential election, White House Deputy Press Secretary Jennifer Friedman told EFE news on Thursday.

White House condemns Syria’s chemical weapons use

The White House is condemning the Syrian government Thursday after having announced that a year-long UN-backed investigation found that both the Assad regime and ISIS had used chemical weapons. "It is now impossible to deny that the Syrian regime has repeatedly used industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people," US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton’s California swing yields $19 million in 72 hours

Hillary Clinton raised over $19 million during a three-day, nine fundraiser swing through California this week, putting the former secretary of state on pace to make August the largest fundraising month of her 2016 campaign. Clinton headlined a series of star-studded events in Southern and Northern California this week, hobnobbing with celebrities, Hall of Fame athletes and tech billionaires, all while filling her campaign's coffers with needed cash for the final months of her race against Donald Trump.